New Grower pH meter question

[MisterHarpy]

Lutron and some high end ones like bluelabs that I've seen have been used for both. But require two different probes. Lutron doesn't and for the price it seems to be too good to be true. Hey don't get me wrong I've seen good reviews on it. But I'm a wee bit skeptical of all its. no features with such a small price. That's why I stuck with what's tried and true. I'm not saying its bad im just old fashioned stick with tried and true

 

[wrongturn13]

Wrongturn- ..yeah, the pH thing can make your frontal lobe collapse if you're not familiar with the water chemistry basics behind pH, buffering, water hardness, etc.,... :slaps: .... here's some good info about all this,...I hear you about the costs, but they will pay for themselves in short order when you consider things,... and prevention of FUBAR grow errors will save your sanity as well!...
> the very best, most accurate and efficient way to deal with managing the pH of your water, nute' solutions, and soil is with a pH meter that tests liquids, and that Accurate 8 soil pH probe, for reading actual soil pH in the pot-- nothing beats this for relevance!... I strongly dislike the run-off method because there are way to many sources of potential measurement error in that method,.. it'll do in a pinch, if done spot-on right, otherwise, the readings cannot be trusted... and when your plants are really on the line, rough estimates of pH don't cut it,... nutrient availability, lockout ranges, and corrections may come down to tenths (0.1) differences often,... The problem with color type testers is with the nute' solutions/run-off being colored themselves, which will screw the accuracy right off the bat,... As a aquarium owner, I assume you know enough about water sources, RO/DI vs. tap, hardness, buffering and all that..? (LOL!- also, another meter that's invaluable is an EC or TDS meter, --TDS's can be had for about $20),... Anyway, keeping the soil pH in proper range starts with dialing in your inputs,.. most nute' solutions are acidic, but the water you dissolve them in (hardness) makes a profound difference in stability of the pH, and how readily it can be adjusted,... I'm sure you get it bro', just making the case for you to invest when you can, and be super careful when working/measuring pH's with methods and test gear that's prone to error,... BTW, WG's soils mix needs more lime,... several folks have complained about high acidity,... and keep in mind, how variably sensitive auto seedling are to nutrients,....

Wow man thanks for the info.

I do have a ro/di unit for my tank and that is what water im planning on using. I just replaced the filters.

What is a good ph measure tool for the water?

how much more lime? Or will I determine that once I check my soil with the probe

You also scared me with your last sentence I don't know what you mean

 

[Waira]

...I figured you had an RO unit for a reef tank,.. :thumbs:.... Okay, I gather you know RO water is stripped of everything, no buffering minerals in there (CaCO3, MgCO3)..as such, it's prone to wild pH swings from small inputs, so I strongly suggest blending your RO with some tap in order to get some buffering capacity in there,... How much depends on how hard your tap water is, and here's where that ppm or EC meter is needed! personally, I like to get my water to about 175ppm, and it sits near neutral pH consistently,... Now for pH'ing the water alone, those color test kits will be okay,... otherwise, you'd use a pH meter,... you got it, can't tell ya how much lime per cf until a solid pH reading is made,... I'll ask one of the TLO soil homies what they think,... a cup or 2 per, apprx.,... depends on the type of lime, and grain size,... agri. lime is great, dolomite is too, but it's slightly different chemically, and as such is pretty slow acting,... oyster shells,... lots of easy to find choices! ....***.... Auto's in general are more nutrient sensitive than their photo' counterparts, but there's quite a bit of tolerance range between strains,... I've seen one strain do okay in a hotter type soil that frittered and/or stunted several other different strains,... best bet until you get a handle on soil nutrient hotness, is to start them in a milder soil,.... simplest trick is to dig out a pocket in the finishing soil in the pot, and put in the milder stuff; cutting your soil with some seedling mix is fine! As it matures it'll grow into the hotter stuff gradually... So, if you've chosen your line-up, look around, ask around about that strain's tendencies.... and start your nutes at about 1/4 strength, depending on brand and NPK numbers, ramping up gradually from there.....

 

[wrongturn13]

...I figured you had an RO unit for a reef tank,.. :thumbs:.... Okay, I gather you know RO water is stripped of everything, no buffering minerals in there (CaCO3, MgCO3)..as such, it's prone to wild pH swings from small inputs, so I strongly suggest blending your RO with some tap in order to get some buffering capacity in there,... How much depends on how hard your tap water is, and here's where that ppm or EC meter is needed! personally, I like to get my water to about 175ppm, and it sits near neutral pH consistently,... Now for pH'ing the water alone, those color test kits will be okay,... otherwise, you'd use a pH meter,... you got it, can't tell ya how much lime per cf until a solid pH reading is made,... I'll ask one of the TLO soil homies what they think,... a cup or 2 per, apprx.,... depends on the type of lime, and grain size,... agri. lime is great, dolomite is too, but it's slightly different chemically, and as such is pretty slow acting,... oyster shells,... lots of easy to find choices! ....***.... Auto's in general are more nutrient sensitive than their photo' counterparts, but there's quite a bit of tolerance range between strains,... I've seen one strain do okay in a hotter type soil that frittered and/or stunted several other different strains,... best bet until you get a handle on soil nutrient hotness, is to start them in a milder soil,.... simplest trick is to dig out a pocket in the finishing soil in the pot, and put in the milder stuff; cutting your soil with some seedling mix is fine! As it matures it'll grow into the hotter stuff gradually... So, if you've chosen your line-up, look around, ask around about that strain's tendencies.... and start your nutes at about 1/4 strength, depending on brand and NPK numbers, ramping up gradually from there.....

Damn man you are wealth of information thank you

 

[autobliterate]

Waira is definitely right about different autos liking different levels of nutes they even seem to vary between phenotypes of the same strain. One of my chronic ryders has shown a bit of burn whereas the other hasn't shown anything at all with the exact same soil and feed schedule. Just in case you are curious it was the lankier more sativa looking pheno that burned.

 

[wrongturn13]

I do thank you for your help. Did you figure out how much lime to add to the mix? in your opinion is it worth following wg's schedule (besides veging longer) I do want to follow Waira's advice of putting my seedling into seed mix in the center of the pot so they don't get burnt.

 

[Corgy]

You talk about $, so most probably I can not help you very much. I have read many times about Accurate ph 8, which is not sold in europe.
http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/meters-testing-ph/soil-meters/accurate-ph-8-soil-ph-moisture-meter/

I suspect the Accurate 8 is sold in Europe, see https://www.autoflower.org/f25/lutron-soil-ph-meter-hard-carry-case-ph-212-a-40807.html#post783685

 

[Corgy]

> the very best, most accurate and efficient way to deal with managing the pH of your water, nute' solutions, and soil is with a pH meter that tests liquids, and that Accurate 8 soil pH probe, for reading actual soil pH in the pot-- nothing beats this for relevance!... I strongly dislike the run-off method because there are way to many sources of potential measurement error in that method,.. it'll do in a pinch, if done spot-on right, otherwise, the readings cannot be trusted... and when your plants are really on the line, rough estimates of pH don't cut it,... nutrient availability, lockout ranges, and corrections may come down to tenths (0.1) differences often,... The problem with color type testers is with the nute' solutions/run-off being colored themselves, which will screw the accuracy right off the bat,...

Don't get me wrong, but I am a little confused about the Accurate 8, the technical specs says resolution of 0,2 and pH accuracy is +/- 0,2, no ATC(Automatic Temperature Compensation) and it can not be calibrated http://controlwizardproducts.com/downloads/AccuratepH8-092810.pdf . That is not convincing specs, but given the good reviews here it must be good enough to do the job, even if it sometimes comes down to 0,1 corrections

 

[Waximus]

I reckon the 0,2 spec is because its an analog meter.. My 52 year old eyes only have an 0,4 accuracy with my Bluelab pen, too!! lololol

 

[autobliterate]

I do thank you for your help. Did you figure out how much lime to add to the mix? in your opinion is it worth following wg's schedule (besides veging longer) I do want to follow Waira's advice of putting my seedling into seed mix in the center of the pot so they don't get burnt.

For my 5 younger plants I switched the base mix to Black Gold Seedling mix which is moss and perlite with dolomite premixed and I mixed a couple extra spoonfuls of the biotone. These plants seems to be doing better and I have only noticed a tiny bit of burn on my more sativa looking chronic ryder. I will let you know what the pH is around next time I water. In general I would lighten all of the feeds given in the guide until you see how the plants respond. The MG definitely gave my Pink Lady a nice little burn when I switched to it. These babies really don't need very much at all.